Near Wrightsville’s Beach Access No. 4 on Saturday, Aug. 8, a dozen or so physically challenged surfers were buckled into life jackets as 11-year-old Spencer Carlson danced in the sand behind the tents erected several feet away from the crashing waves. Carlson strummed the "Star Spangled Banner" on his guitar and dozens of local volunteers working for the Life Rolls On Foundation, positioned the first group of paraplegics onto their surfboards.

Then as the sets rolled onto shore, the surfers gripped the handles on the specially-tooled boards as dozens of volunteers swam behind them, nosing the surfers into the ocean.

Surfers and volunteers were designated to one of two teams, red and blue. In the water, the colors added the element of a real competition. Amid the rising swells, the surfer scanned the horizon looking for a big wave to form.

One of the surfers eventually spotted a head-high swell. The volunteers pushed the board into the face as it gained momentum. The wave crashed down as the surfer displayed a bright smile with her lips stretching from ear to ear.

With one of the volunteers standing or sitting on the tail of the board, the surfer, lying face down, was carried into shore.

People stood in the shallow water near shore clapping and yelling in applause. Some held up scorecards—which almost always read 10.

After each surfer hit the sand and came to a stop, the volunteers turned the board around and gave the surfer another try.

Surfing has been used to help those with mental and physical disabilities for more than a decade, and for the last three years in Wrightsville Beach, the sport has been assisting those who suffer from spinal cord injuries.

While there are amazing organizations conducting research to one day cure paraplegia and quadriplegia, the Life Rolls On (LRO) Foundation is fulfilling a different need, said Meghan Schinderle, the program director in Wrightsville Beach on Saturday.

Between volunteer and surfer registration, Schinderle commented on how important the foundation is to improving the quality of life for paralysis victims.

"We’ve found that surfing really helps these people by showing the infinite possibilities despite having a spinal cord injury," she said. "Surfing leads to the knowledge and hope that I can do anything and overcome anything."

A lot of paralyzed people led an active lifestyle prior to their accident, Schinderle said, so to put them back into that lifestyle proves that they don’t have to miss out on anything.

A foundation fact sheet indicated that there are more than 1 million people living with spinal cord injuries around the country and that most of these injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30.

"They are able to experience new things they didn’t think were possible with their injuries," said April Dove, who works with spinal cord injury victims at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.

Dove was also one of the volunteers, who spoke while standing in the shallow water with a wheelchair in front of her, waiting for the surfers to finish their heats.

"Being on that board gives you the freedom on the water. It makes you feel just like everybody else," said Erika Bogan, 28, the Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina 2009 recipient. "It’s helping so many people realize they can overcome a disability and be just like anyone else."

Bogan, a beautiful mother with dirty-blonde hair, was injured in a car accident when she was 21 years old.

Bogan shines her bright smile over the waters, working to inspire others who have suffered similar injuries.

"When I came out here I was wearing my dress and my crown," she said, laughing, "but after I made my appearance I was just like, ‘Okay, I’m taking it off. I’m just a surfer like everyone else.’"

Bogan is leaving soon for Rapid City, South Dakota, to compete in the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant later this month. While Bogan was surfing, Desmond MacRae sat beneath a tent on the beach strand, explaining the enormous benefit of the sport to his injury.

"The No. 1 killer for an able-bodied person is the same for someone in a wheelchair: heart disease," he said. "I try to do as much as I can to stay fit."

Eventually, a volunteer asked him if he was ready. He replied, "Oh I’m ready, let’s do this."

MacRae, a big guy built like a football player, got onto the board and headed out to catch the waves.

The event on Saturday was the seventh of 10 similar events held throughout the country, Schinderle said, and it comes as the LRO celebrates 10 years in operation.